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DC Comics Rebirth: Everything You Need To Know About It And The Comics Involved

By Trevor Van As on February 20, 2016. Last Updated on November 3, 2016.

After weeks of teasing and speculation, DC Comics finally announced Rebirth at the ComicsPRO retailers conference. This relaunch will begin in proper in June with DC’s comics being relaunched with new series. But at the same time, Rebirth is more than just a relaunch. It’s also a thematic element and mission statement throughout the publisher’s line of comics.

With a relaunch of this size there’s always lots of questions and to those new to comics it can be confusing. That’s why I’ve created this DC Comics Rebirth guide to help you make sense of it all and have all the information in the one place.

This will be updated regularly when new information comes to light in order for this guide to be even more helpful. If you notice that something is missing or you have any questions not answered in this guide kindly let me know and I will update it.

What Is It?

On the surface, The DC Comics rebirth is a line-wide relaunch (not reboot) of DC Comics’ comics. Everything is going back to issue #1 (except Action Comics and Detective Comics), creating a new jumping-on-point ad signalling a new direction for the comics. It’s not just a rebirth in the sense of new #1s, but also a rebirth in the sense that DC Comics is taking the what is great about each character and concept and bringing it back to its core. Once at it’s core DC can then move these characters into new territory.

The best example, and the one use in the video below, is Green Lantern: Rebirth from more than 10 years ago. Writer Geoff Johns brought back what made the Green Lantern franchise so great and re-established classic ideas, then used them to push them into new territory with new ideas to that core. In summary, it was something classic and familiar, but at the same time regularly brought new things to the table.

With Rebirth DC Comics is taking that same approach with their storytelling.

Along with new series will be new creative teams. Many writers and artists will change comics from what they were doing previous, which should also shake-up the comics. When the creative teams are announced for each title I will add them to the guide.

Other changes coming with Rebirth include some comics changing schedule, the comics line as a whole being cheaper and two classic comics getting legacy numbering.

Is Rebirth A Reboot?

Nope.

Everything that has been published before, especially in the last 5 years has still happened. DC Comics hasn’t hit the reset button on anything, but like any relaunch there’s plenty of change.

Do I Need To Have Read Previous DC Comics To Understand It?

No, you shouldn’t have to.

While DC Comics will be taking things from the past it should be done in a way that takes what was classic or good about a concept and a character and moving it into something new. While older readers will get a kick out of seeing the older elements return, they’re used in a way which will create something new. There maybe some elements from older stories used, but if it has been well written then these will not hamper the reading experience or will be explained in a way that gets new readers up to speed.

How Much Will It Cost?

Before the Rebirth DC Comics were publishing comics at a mixture of $2.99 and $3.99 price point, but with the DC Rebirth this will all change. With the DC Rebirth all of the comics will be priced at $2.99. Unlike most publishers, DC Comics has dropped their prices which makes comics that are published twice a month more affordable and more enticing.

Which Comics Will Be Released Twice A Month?

In total there will be 15 comic series which will be released twice a month. Most likely this will mean every 2 weeks, except in months in which Wednesday falls in a month 5 times. (Comics are released on Wednesdays). The following comics will be released twice a month: Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lanterns, Superman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps, Justice League, Nightwing, Cyborg, Deathstroke, Harley Quinn, Justice League America, and Suicide Squad.

Will All Comics Start With #1?

Yes and No.

As you’ll see further down, many of the comics will begin with a special Rebirth issue. These are issues that are set before issue #1 and will set the ground work for the series going forward. For example The Flash will have an issue called The Flash Rebirth #1 and then in two weeks time The Flash #1 will be released. If you think of it a bit like issue #0 then you should get the general gist.

The majority of these comics will have rebirth issues, while some will simply start with issue #1. This is a smaller portion of the comics involved and these are all listed below.

The major exception to this are Action Comics and Detective Comics, which are DC’s two oldest comics. These two will be renumbered to their legacy numbering which is calculated based on the number they finished on before they renumbered for The New 52, plus the 52 issues that came after that. This brings Action Comics to issue #957 and Detective Comics to issue #934.

As to why these comics are returning to their legacy numbering is because they’re the two most important and oldest comics at the publisher. Both of them have been running in some form or another since the late 1930s and debuted Superman (Action Comics) and Batman (Detective Comics).

How Will It Start?

The DC Rebirth kicks off with an 80-page one-shot called “DC Universe: Rebirth”. This one-shot will build the groundwork for everything that will come after in this Rebirth. In an interview with Comic Book Resources writer Geoff Johns described this one-shot as:

“…re-laying the groundwork for DC’s for the future while celebrating the past and present. It’s not about throwing anything away. It’s quite the opposite.”

This will be published before the any of the other new comics on May 25th 2016.

As mentioned earlier Action Comics is one of two comics which is returning to legacy numbering as it’s DC Comics oldest running comic and the one that debuted Superman. This will be rebirthed at issue #957, but don’t worry you will not be required to read all previous 956 issues in order to understand it and will be a good jumping on point.

There’s a power struggle between the current Superman, Lex Luthor and the Pre-Flashpoint Superman as to who should be the protector of Metropolis, but will they be able to set their differences aside to stop a greater threat – Doomsday.

Detective Comics

Detective Comics is the other comic which is returning to legacy numbering as it’s one of DC Comics oldest running comic and the one that debuted Batman. This will be rebirthed at issue #934, but don’t worry you will not be required to read all previous 933 issues in order to understand it and will be a good jumping on point.

Detective Comics co-stars Batman and Batwoman as they train younger allies – including Spoiler, Red Robin and Cassandra Cain – help them against a threat to Gotham City. Someone is taking out criminals in Gotham with military precision and Batman will do anything to stop them – even team-up with Clayface?

Aquaman is proactively trying to make Atlantis less secret and hidden away from the surface world, but there are parties on both sides who don’t like that idea. One of the many who doesn’t like this idea is classic villain Black Manta, who will do anything to sabotage this.

Aquaman’s relationship with Mera will be explored and his supporting cast will be expanded, both on land and under the sea.

For long-time readers, we’ll eventually see plot elements of the long teased Rise of the Seven Seas story which was announced more than 2 years ago.

Batgirl

Written by Hope Larson. Art by Rafael Albuquerque.

Rebirth Issue: No Batgirl #1: July 27th Release Schedule: Monthly

Barbara Gordon will be backpacking trough Asia as part of a training mission. This book seems to take the fun of the previous Batgirl run and mix it up with some more familiar heroics. Whether you’re a fan of the previous run or of what came before that there should something for every kind of Batgirl fan.

Batgirl & The Birds Of Prey

Written by writers of CW’s The 100, Batgirl & The Birds Of Prey will star Black Canary, Huntress and Batgirl. In the first story they try to track down somone using the Oracle name to supply sensitive information to criminals.

Batman has faced some tough foes before in order before in order to save the city, but what if there were a new batch of heroes which want to save Gotham from Batman? Tom King, who is ex-CIA, has mentioned that he will be using a lot of his counter-terrorism experience and personal stories as inspiration for this new Batman series. He’ll explore how Batman gets close to the darkness that he has to deal with, but making sure that it doesn’t drive him insane.

King has mentioned that he has the first years of story planned out which will be broken up into a trilogy of self-contained stories which will make up one larger story.

In the opening story there is a new, younger hero who wants to clean up the streets of Gotham, but does he see Batman as an ally or part of the problem?

In the Rebirth issue, we get a one-shot story which features the villain Calendar Man and is co-written by Tom King and Scott Snyder.

As part of this series there will be everything which is familiar with Batman, but with a few new twists including a new Batmobile and a different sidekick in Duke Thomas.

Batman Beyond

This future Batman series will see Terry McGuinness return to the mantle of Batman. He’s not the only returning either. The word on the street is that the original Joker is back, which has inspired Jokerz gang to wreak havoc on the city.

Batwoman

Spinning out of a 2-issue arc of Dectective Comics called Batwoman Begins, Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, will receive her own series again. Historically, Batwoman has dealt with threats with a supernatural angle so expect to see more of that in this series. as she travels around the world on a mission set by Batman.

Blue Beetle

This series will star two generations of Blue Beetle – Ted Kord, the original Blue Beetle, and the current Jaime Reyes. Kord will act as a mentor to Reyes.

In the opening story Jamie Reyes encounters the mysterious and mystical Doctor Fate. Fate warns him that the scarab which gives Reyes his powers is not all that it seems. At the same time it appears that Doctor Fate is on the brink of insanity. Will he help Jaime or will become a dangerous threat?

Cyborg

Once a star athlete, Vic Stone caught up in a horrible accident that destroyed half his body. Luckily, his body was able to be rebuilt thanks to advance technology. Now he is Cyborg, the mist advanced hero of the DC Universe!

This series will explore Cyborg’s humanity – or what he has left of it. Is he more machine than human and how does that effect him? In order to answer that question he will have to take on an array of DC’s most high-tech threats.

Trade Paperback Releases

Cyborg Vol. 1: The Imitation of Life (Collects Cyborg #1-6 and Cyborg: Rebirth #1) – Available February 7th, 2017.

Deathstroke

Slade Wilson will take on a contract in worn-torn Africa in which he will be forced to take on an African dictator and a supervillain, who is is his friend. Will he mess up the contract to save his friend or go through with it?

A speed force storm has hit the city and has created a group of new speedsters. Barry Allen (The Flash) will mentor these new speedsters and while some of them will become heroes, others will become villains and one will be a killer.

DC has warned that you should not read this until you have read DC Universe: Rebirth.

Trade Paperback Releases

The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes (Collects The Flash #1-8 and The Flash: Rebirth #1) – Available January 24th, 2017.

This will explore Green Arrow, the man and hero, as well as his relationship with Black Carnary. Since the start of New 52 era Green Arrow and Black Canary have never met, but they will be teaming up big time in this new series. Writer Benjamin Percy describes his take on the this series: “Green Arrow will be a politically and culturally relevant series. Expect stories that aim a broadhead into the zeitgeist, that are ripped from the headlines.”

Also, the goatee is back!

Trade Paperback Releases

Green Arrow Vol. 1: The Death and Life Of Oliver Queen (Collects Green Arrow #1-6 and Green Arrow: Rebirth #1) – Available January 31st, 2017.

Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps

This Green Lantern series features the more established Green Lanterns character, such as Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. In the opening story, called “Sinestro’s Law”, we see what happens next once Sinestro has won against the Green Lantern Corps. Will the Green Lanterns be able to stop him?

Nightwing

Dick Grayson is back as Nightwing and in the classic blue and black costume. The opening arc will be called “Better Than Batman.” Nightwing has new mentor, who challenges everything that he has ever learned from Batman.

Red Hood & The Outlaws

Red Hood will be accompanied by two new partners in crime – Bizarro and Artemis – In what DC are branding the “Dark Trinity”. In the first story the trio will be infiltrating the Gotham City underworld.

You can see Red Hood’s new character design by Giuseppe Camuncoli here as well as Artemis and Bizarro’s character designs here.

This Superman series will focus on Superman and his relationship with his son and wife Lois Lane. Can he juggle having a family while when the world needs him also? Also, his son is starting to develop powers, but will Superman help him develop them or will he hid him away from the world?

You can check out Superman’s new character design by Pat Gleason here.

New Super-Man

This will be a new Chinese character named Kenan Kong (find out more about the decision on the name) which will receive powers similar to Superman. This will allow for a culturally different perspective on the Superman archetype and superheroes.

Titans

This will feature a more classic Titans line-up of Donna Troy, Arsenal, Garth, Lilith, Nightwing and a certain someone who reappeared in DC Universe: Rebirth.

DC has warned that you should not read this until you have read DC Universe: Rebirth. Plot threads from this one-shot will continue in this series and mysteries from it will be revealed throughout the stories.

Will feature two stories running throughout with each issue alternating timelines. One issue will feature Wonder Woman in the present (art by Liam Sharp) and the other feature a story from Wonder Woman in her early day (art by Nicola Scott) called Wonder Woman: Year One.

In the modern day story, Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth has stopped working and as she tries to figure out why it will lead her down a path of dark secrets.

In an interview with Comic Book Resources the creative team mentioned that elements that have been established in the past and present will be gelled together to be cohesive. They’re aim is to also create a series that is accessible to new readers and those who haven’t read Wonder Woman in a while.

You can check out Wonder Woman’s new character design by Tony Daniel here.

Vigilante: Southland

Set in LA, this series follows a new version of the character Vigilante. This new character is Donny, a guy who was neither politically or socially active, who fights for what is right after tragedy hits close to him.

If you’re looking for some street level action by the writer of the Ivan Monk novel series then you’ll want to check out this miniseries.

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Trevor Van As is the founder of How to Love Comics and has loved comics all his life. When he's not reading or talking about comics he can be found eating frozen yogurt and dancing like no one is watching.

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Hey, thanks for this great compilation. I totally skipped the New 52 series and I’m jumping onto the Rebith without a net. Maybe you have already answered this, but which are your favorite “rebiths” of this series so far? Thanks!

Awesome page! I’ve been looking everywhere for an in depth layout of the rebirth series. In regards to Earth 2: Society and Gothem Academy, I found a source on Wikipedia stating that they will no longer be apart of the rebirth series, instead as continuations of their New 52 titles’…if possible, can you confirm this?

Here is the DC Rebirth Wikipedia extract: ‘Additionally, two titles part of the initial announcement in February, Gotham Academy: Second Semester and Earth 2,[2] were revealed to no longer be considered Rebirth titles, instead acting as continuations of their New 52 titles, Gotham Academy and Earth 2: Society, respectively.[5] Regarding the decision to focus on fewer titles, with some shipping twice-monthly, DiDio said, “What we did was eliminate some of the lower ranked titles, and we’re trying to incorporate those ideas into the main books themselves, because we feel that makes the main books stronger” adding, “we look at things like… Gotham by Midnight. And I loved Gotham by Midnight, but it never got the sampling that a Batman book would. But if we did that Gotham by Midnight story and integrated it into the Batman series that was shipping twice monthly, there was a better chance for people to see those characters, get excited by those characters, and more importantly, if we ever decided to thin them out, maybe we’d have a stronger audience and a better chance for series like that to succeed.” DiDio also revealed that DC had breaks in the schedule “where we’ll decide whether or not a double-ship is working” and potentially change it to monthly status. “We’re going to be examining that on a regular basis,” he added. “We’re not going to keep book double-shipping if we don’t think the demand is there.”[4]’

Hi Trevor I’m a Batman fan but never been a comic reader, As a father now I want to be a comic reader, Which series do you think I should purchase? Im looking at the following. Batman Batgirl Birds of Prey Batgirl Nightwing Harley Quinn Suicide Squad Should I be think about others as a beginner? DetectiveComics?All Star Batman? Justice League? Thanks

Hey Michael, it’s really cool to hear that you’re interested in getting into comics! You should be able easily jump into any of these series without too much prior knowledge. I’ve been reading Batman and it’s awesome so far. Some of the others haven’t started yet or I haven’t read so I can’t talk about the quality but they will be new reader friendly and should be worth checking out if you’re interested in the characters.

Detective Comics is worth checking out too if you’re interested in the extended Bat-family of characters and from what I have heard has been quite good. All-Star Batman looks like it will be a great read. Writer Scott Snyder has a fantastic track record with Batman and has a bunch of fantastic artists working with him.

My suggestion would be to pick up the ones that grab your interest the most and if you like them continue reading them. If you don’t dig them then there’s always a new series to try in the coming months.

This is confusing for a newbie like me to wrap my head around I want to collect “Just” The Justice League Rebirth and Batman Rebirth.

So let me get this right about “DC Rebirth”.

DC started things off first with a “DC Universe Rebirth #1” laying the foundation or groundwork for each character, Batman, Supes, Wonder-woman etc. than after the “Rebirth” each character will have their own individual run or series?

Than after the ” Rebirth” DC has started each character or each series after “Rebirth #1 like Batman, Superman, Wonder-woman, green lantern etc etc.

So what I am getting at is like DC Universe Rebirth is number 0 (or #1 in this case) than each chapter like Batman rebirth will start with start at 1 and than go from there?

Each character like Batman will it be “DC Universe Rebirth #1” than Batman Rebirth # 1 than Batman Rebirth # 2 than Batman Rebirth # 3

Will each comic with it be title “Rebirth” Batman Rebirth # 1, Batman Rebirth # 2 and so on. or will it just be Batman # 1, Batman # 2?

I don’t know if i should mention it here because this is a DC need to know. But the Marvel comics weren’t this hard to figure out…. Hey I like both DC and Marvel. Its about time DC jumped on the BOAT!!

Hey Ethan, great question. Start with DC Universe: Birth. This is one-shot covers the whole line hinting at future stories and things which will cover the entire line in the future. After that you can pick any series which appeals to you. For instance if Batman grabs your interest read Batman: Rebirth #1 and then Batman #1, #2 and so on. The Rebirth specials act a bit like an #0 issue or in TV terms a bit like a pilot episode. They introduce people to characters and concepts and hint at stories kicking off in #1.

Ok I get it now. I get how DC Universe Rebirth is the starting point than the “Rebirth” of a character than the actual run. I think got now now and how DC is running with the ball now. So it would go the same way with The Justice League and any other DC character?

That’s correct! The same goes for Justice League too. Just keep in mind there are a few titles that don’t have a Rebirth issue (you’ll see if they have one or not in the listing above) and you can start that particular series with issue #1.)

I’ve bought the one shot DC rebirth Issue, Batman Rebirth, Superman Rebirth..but im still so confused about the running order….e.g. I’ve got two Batman rebirth and they both say #1 so which one comes first… Im guessing one is sort of a prequel to the new DCU.

could you please explain a rough running order and also where exactly after the New52 does rebirth start?

Hey Asfand, start with DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot, then pick up any series that interests you. For series like Batman, start with Batman: Rebirth #1 and the Batman #1. Each series has their own stories going on so it is not essential to read everything to understand what’s going on. So just read the stories you are enjoying or appeal to you.

If they both have the exact same title on them you might’ve picked up the regular cover and a variant by mistake. Have a look in the inside and see if the artwork is different. If it is then the cover with Batman very close up is the Rebirth issue.

Will there be common threads running though the entire rebirth or will they all be separate stories? Will Action Comics cross over with Superman? How about Detective Comics and Batman? And will these stories crossover with Justice League?

Each title will be telling it’s own story but I believe that they will be aware of each title. Batman and Superman will focus on the main character while Action Comics and Detective Comics will have an extended cast. Each story should be aware of the other, but shouldn’t be essential to read one or the other. The same should go with Justice League. I know Batman and Detective Comics will be involved in a 6-part crossover with Nightwing in September and I can assume the Superman titles will do something similar eventually.

all i want to know is…Where is Kaldur’ahm? he was introduced in the comics shortly before the new 52 and there have been multiple people who have said they would reintroduce him but it hasn’t happened as far as i know. but now Garth is getting introduced? no offense to people who like Garth but I considered Kaldur’ahm to be a much more interesting Aqualad than Garth ever was.

Wonder if the 80-page Rebirth one-shot will be $2.99? Would be kind of funny to have the first comic in the “new strict $3 price line!” to be more. I understand that’s probably not very realistic for 80 pages, but I’m not really trying to pay $8 for a comic either (I see you Legends of Tomorrow comic!).

Yes yes yes! Blue Beetle is coming back! I was so bummed when his series was cancelled at issue 16 but hopefully he’ll get a longer run with Rebirth.

Also looking forward to the new Suicide Squad line as the movie looks awesome and I kind of stopped buying New Suicide Squad for a few weeks after issue 7 due to other things going….

I’m also glad Batman will be getting a new writer. Scott Snyder was OK but I didn’t really enjoy a lot of what he did with the title. Joker not having a face was just edgy for the sake of edgy IMO and while I was looking forward to the Riddler arch I was honestly a bit underwhelmed by it at the end. I did enjoy his take on Bruce Wayne’s origin story though.

So bummed about this Trevor. I became a comic book reader when the New 52 started and I’m annoyed that it is all resetting to #1. I understand that with the influx of the movies coming out soon it is a smart move, but I wish they kept some of the successful series of the New 52 on-going.

I will likely cut my monthly pickings quite a bit, just as I did with Marvel after their tumultuous Secret Wars mishap.

The cycle…it is complete. having to deal with resets and reboots and reimaginings is all part of being a comic book fan. longtime readers reacted to the new 52 the same way you’re reacting to rebirth. but clearly you liked the new 52 and i’ll bet it’s due at least in part to the fact that it was designed to appeal to new readers. don’t begrudge more new readers that same chance. this seems like it won’t be as big of a shift as the new 52 was anyway.

Being a comic book fan…yah, it certainly means dealing with reboots and rebirths and ‘all new’ and other hype…and its also a damned good reason to choose to get OFF the merry go round, as well.

Having been a fairly regular fan since childhood, avidly since 1966, I’ve been through all the ups and downs, rebirth, restarts, false starts, and engineering done by the publishers to foment interest and to keep their characters alive and meaningful.

I think they are trying…but they are not succeeding. I’m lost, feel like I’m kinda thrown under the bus, and they don’t care for the older fans. And its probably true–and I don’t even blame them. But I’m largely done with them…and while superheroes have generally turned to piss poor examples of themselves, Image continues to challenge and excite the medium. I’m sure there are others…

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